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71 thoughts on “How is your relationship with makeup different now than it was 5-10 years ago?”

I’m much more informed about makeup than I used to be. I don’t think that X brand is the only brand I should buy. I know more of what I like in a product and how to buy products to suit my particular needs, such as my super oily, hooded lids and allergy prone eyes.

5 years ago, I was ~16 and I never actually thought that makeup would be such a huge part of me now. Since I was in middle school, all that mattered was school and friends and makeup was not even in my mind. Since graduating high school, I have started collecting makeup as a hobby (especially limited edition ones) & since I began, I now know more of what I am looking for in makeup & ingredients.

10 years ago I was just getting into makeup. Gosh I was such a failure, I thought if only my mum would let me wear makeup that I’d become mega popular and have a bf and all this stuff. It’s hilarious looking back because that’s so vain and untrue. Plus I was really awful at putting it on.
I feel as though makeup has always been a topic of interest and something that I’ve been curious about but I didn’t quite fall in love with it until 2008 or so when the awesomeness of YT broke out onto the scene and I found Leesha.
Up until I watched her videos I didn’t think someone as pale as myself could wear color or make it work but she showed me how to do it.
I love the creativity and artistry behind it, I love that it isn’t all vain.
This year I finally landed a job at Sephora and I LOVE it. I love being able to teach people that they can be creative and try something new. I love making people feel beautiful. :3 I think the relationship has certainly become more rewarding.
At the same time I’ve become a lot more critical than I once was. My collection, in my own opinion, is rather large – it takes up two shelves of my dresser and I’m really picky when it comes to buying new things because they have to be really unique and special for me to want to pick them up.

Well 5-10 years ago I was only 10-15 years old lol! But I NEVER thought I would get into makeup. My friends would try to put it on me, but I would literally swear it off like it was the devil. It’s funny how obsessed with it I am now! And that was only about a year ago. I became obsessed really quickly.

This one is easy – five years ago I didn’t wear makeup. I’m currently on year two. I’ve learned a lot since I started and I’m still learning what works for me and what doesn’t, and how to be smarter with my purchases.

I think I’m a lot less willing to spend large amounts of money on makeup. I’m a lot more thoughtful and careful with where I invest my makeup money, and I really want to be getting a good value. I have a lot more restraint when I see something that I like. I really consider the cost and if I really need it/don’t already have something similar.

I think I “discovered” make-up back when all the youtube makeup gurus just talked about MAC collections 24/7, but I never truly bought into the hype. One major collection (Disney Venomous Villains!) was enough for me, and then I just got overwhelmed. And thanks to sites like this, youtube gurus, blog sales, hautelook, etc, I’m a lot more informed and careful about making purchases. And I know to wait for the Sephora F&F! =)

The biggest for me is not buying every dang LE item out there. I am a lot more informed and careful with the products I buy. I am more prone to check out drug store make-up more often then high-end. And lastly, having more brushes. I think I only had maybe 10 +/- brushes for quite some time. It wasn’t until about 8 years ago I started buying more brushes (which come in way handy when I am lazy and don’t wash them until the weekend). OH! Nail polish!! For a long time I used to get my nails done. I’d buy an OPI here and there (maybe 3 – 5 a year) Now that I do my nails, I am a nail polish junkie. It’s turned into a sick obsession with me. I’m loving nail art, frankening and buying polish

Five years ago I was just finishing high school and my taste is makeup ran to heavy mascara and lipgloss and not much else. I hadn’t discovered eyeshadow primer so I never wore eyeshadow as my skin would eat it.

10 yrs ago i was 14 and knew nothing about makeup except my Mom used to say not to touch hers Coz it’ll spoil my skin. 5yrs ago i was 19 and that’s when i started to wear sheer lip glosses, water lining my eyes, mascara and blush. But now thanx to my love of makeup and ofcourse Temptalia i am more informed about makeup and my purchases or should-be purchases.

My relationship with makeup was “closeted” 5-10 years ago because my mother still considered me a minor and didn’t allow me to wear any. Once I got into college she didn’t have anything to say until I became obsessed with it. Oops!

First and foremost, I care a lot more about what’s in my products… more and more, I’m using as many body products as I can with ingredients that, in general, I could eat without dying (not that I would ;). So, for example, a coconut hair mask or a diy scrub.
In my cosmetics though, while I still have a lot of high end staples, I’ve also learned that there are a lot of basic, drug store products that do the job just as well as their competitors with the better marketing department. Not all the time, but often enough to warrant as many trips to the drugstore as I would to Sephora.

10 years ago I was 15 and I wore really bad cakey white makeup covergirl powder and a cheap concealer that was totally the wrong color for my face. I was really into goth makeup so I always had black eyeshadow and eyeliner on. I put it on secretly in the bathroom and school. In my first years at college all of my makeup could fit in a little tiny bag. I only had one foundation, concealer, a covergirl blush, an eyeliner and one frosty white covergirl eyeshadow.

It wasn’t until 2009 that I really got into makeup thanks to youtube. Now I have a sizable collection and I really am passionate about it. I look sooo much better than I did back then, mainly because I wear stuff that is my color and really started to wear eyeshadow and stopped doing the raccoon eyes thing. I wear neutrals and play with colors on occassion. It seems it actually helped me to develop into an adult, or at least look like one anyway… lol.

10 years ago it was not so vital ! Now I have 5 large boxes where I store all my makeup, it has become a passion ( 10 years ago I was younger but I would buy every beauty cream I saw, and perfumes as well ), now I love makeup/beauty care/perfumes at the same level !

Well 10 years ago I was 13, and I wore lipgloss (only on the weekend) and I’m pretty sure that was all! At 18 I had started to get really into makeup but I was still very inexperienced, though I did love it and wear it all the time. Now, I would say I’m still just as passionate about it, but I’m more experienced, savvy and just plain GOOD at it.

10 years ago I was a single mother who was working full-time as an ABO/NCLE certified Optician/Contact Lens Tech while simultaneously working on finishing my English Lit (British & American) BA which I followed with an English MA. I was also raising someone else’s two daughters, so I certainly had my hands full! The doctor I worked for had a very high-maintenance wife; she called me and my coworkers into a staff meeting over our lunch break one day and told us that we had a new dress code: we had to all start wearing a full face of makeup every single day or else be fired. I was not very into makeup at the time (who had the time??), and what few products I did own were all drugstore brands that I occasionally reacted to (rashes, eczema, breakouts, etc.) I was enraged by the new rule since I had worked hard for my certifications, and I was good at what I did. In protest, I told them that I could not wear cosmetics because of allergies and eczema. I didn’t wear ANY makeup for 2 years. Looking back, I can’t believe I went an entire 2 YEARS without so much as a little mascara or a pale lipstick or gloss, but I did it. I’m very stubborn, and I resent being forced to wear makeup with the threat of being fired if I fail to comply when the job has absolutely NOTHING to do with cosmetics!

Fast-forward 10 years: I left my Optical career after 13 years, and I worked for 3 years for state universities and community colleges teaching first-year English Composition. Unfortunately, my MA was officially earned about 6 months after the housing bubble exploded and the great recession began, and one of the biggest victims on the hit-list of government cuts on all levels–federal, state, and local–has been higher education. Suddenly, my “new” career became my “old” career, and it happened so fast I didn’t know what hit me. I tried to go back to Optics, but the field is too dynamic, so too much had changed already; I was out-dated, and unemployable.

During the time I spent unemployed and struggling, I turned to my makeup to relieve stress and have some fun. I have been a painter/artist for many years, and suddenly, makeup became my new medium for creating art. One thing led to another, and before I knew what hit me I had become a freelance Makeup Artist. It’s not what I’d like to do for the rest of my life, but I deeply enjoy doing this for now! Sometimes, I just can’t believe I went from a staunch feminist anti-makeup (in the workplace by force, at least) who only had a handful of Covergirl and L’oreal products, to a ridiculously over-educated, unemployed woman with a monstrous collection of high-end cosmetics that is about to move me out of my own bedroom because there simply isn’t enough room to store it all! I have my personal makeup, my professional kit makeup, and my airbrush system, all taking over my little universe, and still I want more more more. I love how my knowledge skills, and bravery have exploded from where they were 10 years ago, and I really love having another face to make beautiful other than my own mediocre self. From ignorant rebel to expert collector, Not a day goes by where I don’t play in all my makeup, even if I’m sick in bed. Long gone are the days of refusing to wear cosmetics for 2 days, let alone years! I don’t think I’d change any of it, though. I appreciate what I did 10 years ago as a means to stand up for my daughter’s rights in her future, and now I’m proud of all the effort I have put into developing my art just as much as I am proud of all my college degrees.

I can relate to using makeup as a means of stress relief. My interest in makeup also skyrocketed when everything in my life just seemed to be falling apart. Within two years two family members passed away and a third was diagnosed with cancer. Makeup was one of the things that helped me get through this difficult time.

I had absolutely no confidence in my ability to wear makeup, which translated to zero makeup skills at all. I would experiment occasionally, but not enough to discover my preferences or develop any habits. Like, for a job interview, I would wear eyeshadow. But not on any other days of the year.

Thank goodness I’ve evolved beyond that – I feel much more confident now!

I was all about subdued neutrals and getting the best deal possible. I am now going brighter and wearing colors I never thought I would put on my face. Not talking bright orange or “shades of clown” but pops of gold and teal are ruling these days!
Thanks to this blog, I am also willing to spend more for quality…for me that’s more than $5 for an eyeliner…so long Bonne Belle, hello Urban Decay! I am better educated in terms of price not always being relevant to quality, and will seek out reviews about products before shelling out.

10-15 years ago I wasn’t wearing makeup! I like a dramatic lip and a neutral eye. My eyes are large and lovely on their own and I don’t like to go heavy on my eye with much more than shadow and crease shading. My lips are full so I love to wear dramatic colour and ensure that my blush is in the same colour family. That’s about it. I’m a blush and lipstick girl – with a spot of mascara.

Ten years ago my makeup was all about covering. In high school I had really bad acne and oily skin so I caked on the powder. I did just powder foundation and black liner just on my lower lash line with mascara (yuck!). The liner bit came from my mother who has hooded eyes and didn’t think it mattered if she wore anything on her top lash line. Luckily, I have since broken her of that deplorable habit.

5 years ago, my skin had calmed down and I had just bought my first liquid foundation. I started wearing neutral shadows and lipgloss. I also began my “addiction” with Sephora. Most of my cosmetic growth has been in the past five years. I went from drugstore to only high end back to the mixture of what I have now. I no longer get things because of the brand alone. I look at quality, what I want from the product, and how it aligns with my personal makeup style.

I’d say my relationship with makeup is so different even looking back a year ago! I always really liked makeup, but now it is had even led to a career as a makeup artist. The big different within the past 5-10 years for me are the amount of beauty blogs and beauty gurus on YouTube. Those definitely help to recommend products and showcase different techniques.

Yes. I used to stick to the few brands I knew and loved. Now, I do not blindly buy specific brands. The occassional LE still suckers me in prior to seeing reviews, but for the most part, the products I buy are ones which have been reviewed or have been recommended to me by people whose opinion I trust.

10 years ago I just didn’t have the free money for it. Also I looked awful in my eyes as No one was doing it right in my area… miss matched foundation… too thick caked one mascara. I was only doing makeup on others for stage. lol

Five years ago I was mostly using Mineral Makeup and trying out a number of different indie brands. I also got into MAC more. Also finding Enkore was HUGE help to understanding how to work with makeup. Enkore still someone I pimp video to others because because his goal where to tech the methods not the products/brands.

I think i spend more on makeup now than i did then but i make better purchases. I pay more attention to ingredients and quality. I test everything before buying to make sure it doesn’t break me out. I don’t buy things I’m not going to use up.

I used to hate brown eyeshadows five years ago, but now I’ve learned which kinds of browns suit my skintone and where to place them with my eye shape and now I like them a lot. A lot of my hatred of brown came from the fact that the browns I tried had very strong red/orange undertones and they didn’t do my skin any favors. Now I look for grey and yellow leaning browns and it’s all good.

Also, I guess I can afford to splurge on higher end brands occasionally when I wasn’t able to before so my “overall picture” of makeup and what’s out there has broadened.

10 yrs ago I was 17 and hated the idea of m/u. My sister put some on me for prom and I couldn’t wait to get it off LOL
5 yrs ago, I was REALLY into. I’m talking buying almost everything I read about this blog and others!!
Now I’m much calmer and try to use what I have before buying new stuff. I also don’t wear it nearly as often as I used to, but it still makes me very happy when I do

I’ve gotten into makeup these past two years. Before that I owned maybe the odd black eyeliner and a few nail polishes. I plan out all my purchases and rarely buy on impulse. Also, I always trust your reviews, Christine!

5-1-0 years ago I bought almost exclusively from Mac, with a smattering of products from other brands. I feel like I was very limited in the range of colours I would try and I also didn’t know anything about applying eye makeup, so I was really just poking around with different colours, trying to figure out what might look good where.

My taste now is broader and I’ve learned a lot about how certain colours can be used, as well as things I should try to avoid.

Huge! 10 years ago I had one drawer of makeup, now I have four. With youtube, I now experiment more with makeup and know where to place products on my eyes and which products are long lasting. I know that I don’t have to use every color in a quad to get a great eye look either.

I also toss stuff that doesn’t work. 10 yrs ago, I’d hang on to it .. even though a product was the wrong color or texture.

Now, if I could just get all my makeup in one place . . I’d be happier.

Well, now I actually wear it! LOL! And just like you, Christine, I am more informed about the products, brands and techniques so, therefore, I am more in love with the experience of wearing it and more in awe with the creativity it brings.

The biggest difference is quality. I used to buy only drugstore brand makeup. I know realize that it is cheap for a reason. I find that with better quality makeup it goes much further than drugstore brands. Also I started washing my makeup brushes more often and this has helped my blemishes go away. The next step is buying better quality brushes.

buying more brushes has been such an expensive, slow process. i just had a few in the beginning, but they were drugstore brands and the shedding was terrible. now i have quite of bit of nice ones and i clean them regularly and it makes all the difference!

Now I will make one or two purchases per year of “perfect” products that are “mid-end” or “high-end”. 5 years ago, I would spend a lot of time and money trying to find drug store dupes of these higher end products. I ended up spending more money that way and having a ton of products that I didn’t use because something was off or wrong. Of course, if something is inexpensive and I love it, I will still buy it. I also am more skilled at makeup application than I was 5 or 10 years ago.

I really started getting into makeup 8-9 years ago, when I started college. Back then I was all about bright colors, glitter and would run for the hills at the thought of wearing something ‘neutral’! Now I’m much more interested in softer, wearable looks that come from good quality products – whether they be drugstore or high-end. I also think that now, as a working adult, I can spend the money to invest in luxury items that have become my HG products (hello Cle de Peau foundation!)

5-10 years ago, I didn’t really know squat about makeup. I was more into perfumes and nail polish, but because of those, it got me into makeup. I also didn’t know technique. Now I have a lot more skill and passion for it…and have a disturbingly large collection.

I didn’t really wear makeup 5-10 years ago. I would go through phases where I bought it but I wasn’t buying the right stuff for me and I never ended up wearing it except for special events. Now i’ve become an avid collector and I know more. I like researching makeup before I buy it, and I’m more into high-end than I was before.

I used to think I would like to wear makeup but it was just such a bother to put on and take off so I never used to wear it. Now I think it’s fun to put on and taking it off isn’t such a hassle as I used to think.

Even to this day I don´t really use foundation or powder because I don´t like how it feels and don´t think I really need it anyway. My first makeup purchase was 10 years ago exactly when I was 12 and it was a pink brown jordana gloss that I asked my mother to buy for me. The main difference is that now I use mainly high end makeup instead of drugstore, the difference is really obvious to me between the two. I got into high end makeup when I was almost 17 and I haven´t changed much when it comes to makeup since then, but I think I now have improved a little bit my technique with lip liner, lipstick and blush .

i am way more refined. i research my purchases and i think about what will work for my skin tone. i remember at 15 i was buying cheap make up and giving myself greasy raccoon eyes. now i look pretty damn refined!

Products, brands, colors, techniques, etc, have all changed or evolved over the years, but I don’t think my overall, basic relationship has changed. It’s always been something I enjoy very much, but it’s never been something I couldn’t do without. There are days I wear a full face, and there are days I wear nothing at all. Most days, it’s somewhere in between.

I forgot to add, I’ve pretty much always had a mix of HE & DS brands in my stash, but I’ve learned where I can (and *should*) skimp or splurge. I used to think that HE foundation was better, but after years of using both, I’ve found no difference, as long as the shade is a good match. Mascara & eyeliner are also things I skimp on, since those are the products I toss before I even finish them.

I recently got into makeup. I wore it a little bit 10 years ago and probably less 5 years ago. Now I love makeup. Actually, I really need to start curbing my spending and working with what I have (which is plenty). I especially enjoy putting on makeup to go out with my husband on date nights and going out with friends.

I never wore makeup 5-10 years ago. I didn’t know how to apply it properly. I couldn’t understand how to blend eyeshadows, or how to use concealer so I never wore any. One day I was on Youtube and decided to look up makeup tutorials and now I have so much makeup and so many makeup brushes you would think I was a MUA.

Honestly, I’m more vain now that I’m older & I have a more focus about wanting to both preserve my looks & subtly, yet effectively, enhance them. That means, I’m less interested in the flash of color trends or statement makeup or whatever the latest “in” look is. I’m less interested in copying others & more interested in finding what works for me generally. I still love the allure & possibility of all makeup but now I am not so much like a dog chasing every car that goes by. I’ve learned to pace myself!!

Back then I barely wore makeup, it was 95% drugstore bought and I wore the same look everyday. Foundation, lots of black liner and a tinted lip balm or a certain shade of purple lipstick that I seemed to buy and re-buy no matter the brand.
Now, my stash has more higher-end brands, more UD, MAC, Kat Von D,Benefit, Tarte, etc. Indie Mineral companies and then some drugstore. I also switch up my looks a lot.
I’ve learned a lot more about shadow placement and how to use blush and bronzer to add color and shape my face. I always curl my lashes and do my brows too!

Oh, and I almost never buy blind anymore! I read reviews and check swatches. For high-end I want to be sure that it’s what I really want and need and for drugstore it helps because you can’t swatch in-store.

10 years ago i was 20 and a university student. I read lots of magazines and was not able to buy all the products MUAs used on celebrity artists. Luckily I had a MAC counter close to my city where I started to buy one MAC product per month. I remember also to be inspired by Kevin Aucoins makeup book, especially the look of Tina Turner, Janet Jackson and a no-name model.

5 years ago, I got deeper into makeup. I was part of a German beauty community, where I read lots of tips how to use, what products to buy. I discovered Spectra and other beauty blogs and started researching for swatches, reviews and so on. At that time, I could afford more makeup ans bought lots of MAC.

And now, at the age of 30, my expectations on product quality are much higher and the money I could spend for makeup and tools, too. I still research before I buy a product. The increasing amount of youtubers and bloggers make it on the one hand easier to get reviews, but are tempting to buy more, what is not necessary. I get inpired by youtubers and MUAs like Lisa Eldridge, Pixiwoo and TiffanyD and learned a lot from them over the last years. I have improved my applying technices, learned a lot and tried other companies.

I feel the variety of products, companies, textures etc. is enormous and sometimes it’s just too much for me and I don’t know what product to try next.

To sum it up, I am more picky, found my style and some staple products I can rely on and I just buy the products I feel are the best for me.

Last but not least, I want to thank you Christine, for the time, money and afford you put in reviews, tutorials and general in your blog. I fould Temptalia while searching for a review of MACs N Collection and I read your blog on a regular basis since then. Keep on going, girl.

Hi girls! I’m Martina, I’m italian and I live in Milan. I’m a make-up addicted and I’ve been wearing make up since I was 12-13 years old. I’ve always put very bright, sparkling shades on my eyes and I always bought shades full of glitters, pink pop lipsticks, black eyepencils…and now that I’M 21 and I’m a bit grown up, I have lots of stuff of the same colour.What I have to do with it??!! Here in Milan there’s a beauty shop called “KIKO” very very economic and of a good quality!! Do you know it?..I’ve been their first custom for ages..but now I have fallen in love with benefits cosmetics and they are a bit expensive. I would know if it is worth it. e-mail me please!!I need someone who shares my passion for make up!!

- I agree with many of the comments below re: looking for quality brands and doing research before purchasing. For budgetary reasons, I really couldn’t afford anything other than DS brands, but it didn’t matter to me much which brand I was purchasing, as long as it looked nice.
– When I was 17 (10 yrs ago) I was mainly just concerned with eyeshadow, eyeliner, and lip gloss. 5 yrs ago, I branched off into HE makeup and concealer and primer. I had just begun to experiment with blush. My makeup looks almost always consisted of heavy eye makeup, basic pink blush, and one of three glosses.
– Now, I still don’t wear foundation much but I experiment with a wider range of looks and textures, from very subtle mattes or satin finishes, to dramatic smoky or colorful eyes, standout metallics, bright lips, etc.
– most of all, I’ve become comfortable with versatility and having my makeup reflect different aspects of my personality. I work with my features, not against them, and have embraced my skin tone and the unconventional shades I can wear. Even growing up in major cities, there weren’t many options for brown-skinned girls. Now, companies are realizing the beauty (and profitability) of diversifying their products.

Oh, and, technique has VASTLY improved. I was ok wit blending eyeshadow before but I try different placements on my eyelids, and blend out blush and contour much better. I also have become far more comfortable with both lipstick and tinted stains/balms, and combine multiple products to get a look I want (for skin, eyes, cheeks, lips, whatever).

I spend a lot more time looking up reviews, finding a store to try something out (even if I end up buying online). I don’t make the impulse purchases I made 10 years ago. Now there are products I will always repurchase, colors I know look good on me, and the knowledge on how to apply and play with what I have. So I can feel better dropping a bit more money when I know a foundation/lipstick/eyeliner are going to last me through a day. I used to buy a lot, only end up using a bit of it, and throwing out most of it when I was younger.

Five years ago I owned no makeup, at all. Not even mascara. As a teen I never wore makeup. I was the only girl in my class who didn’t. I came into it on my own when I went to college, and now I enjoy it.